Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin – 10

As much as this episode was about Akari and giving her the Christmas with Santa Claus that she died waiting for, it tied in nicely to Maya’s own past with her father and how she misunderstood him. Christmas ended up being the link, as Maya finally realized that Waldstein Academy was created as the ghost school she asked her father for when she was younger. Truly, Junichirou knows no bounds to get so absorbed into the occult world to grant his cherished daughter that wish, though I’m left wondering if he lost sight of his original goal or discovered something else in the Nostradamus Prophecies along the way. The one thing that caught my attention is that Maya asked for aliens at this school as well, leaving me wondering if she’s the key like I’ve suspected before. If not her, it could be her father who’s gathered all this paranormal activity on Minakami mountain. Now that we know a lot of it was probably forcibly induced, I’m not even going to rule out the possibility that he transcended his own spirit to an alternate plane to continue his work. Whether that’s to prevent the Nostradamus Prophecies or to actually open the rift to give Maya the aliens that she’s wanted I don’t know, but I’m starting to think this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Kumashiro Junichirou. There’s also the suspicion some people raised on the commander of the time agency in the future being Maya’s father, assuming that version of Fumiaki’s story had some element of truth behind it.

If I were to grasp for straws as to why Maya looks like she’s been killed next episode, the obvious possibility is that the same people who got rid of her father came back to do the same to her for getting her nose too deep. Thus far, the only ones we could realistically suspect are Chihiro and her black suit accomplice; however, I’m preparing myself for some really unlikely possibilities as well, such as someone right under our noses. Can you even imagine if the writers are planning to pull one over on us by making it Smile or JK? At this point, the sheer thought of that sounds preposterous, but there’s actually very little in the way that we know about their characters. Another possibility would be the whole transcending death bit I mentioned above, where Maya takes her own life to follow the footsteps of her father (to some end). It’s not very likely since there’s no precedence for it happening, other than the fact that Akari showed ghosts do exist in this fictional world. The last possibility that immediately came to mind is that Maya came to the shocking realization that she is the key and had to get rid of herself to protect the school and the occult. While the preview narration doesn’t give a lot away, Maya did sound more determined than surprised at how she’s going to be dying next time. The only thing that throws off ideas that her death is of her doing is the amount of blood splattered around her body. Whatever the case, those are just some random ideas that I’m juggling around at the moment. Realistically, I expect to be off on all accounts, having fallen victim to the direction the story wants me to believe it’s headed. The one belief that I am holding onto though is that Maya’s not gone for good. We still have three episodes to go. :P

As for Akari herself, it was nice to see her father get to apologize to her one last time and give her back her snow globe as a parting gift. The most surprising revelation that should have hit her father hard is that she knew all along that he’s Santa Claus and died waiting outside in the cold for him to return. It wasn’t explicitly hinted at, but learning that made me instantly believe that Akari waited out there as long as she did in hopes that her father didn’t think she was a bad girl. Tragic. Other than that, the story is playing with the idea that Maya likes Fumiaki and her getting jealous after he spouted some manly words about wanting to support her as her partner before drooling like a puppy at the sight of Mikaze. However, I still see that as Maya annoyed at how inferior of a woman he makes her feel compared to Mikaze, rather than her having romantic feelings towards him. She’s a girl and would naturally be jealous on some level, but whether or not it stems from romantic feelings is another thing. Given how Fumiaki will sweet talk Maya then drop her in a second, even I want to punch him for being an insensitive idiot. Still, he does man up at times by giving Maya some support when she’s in tears at their old home that’s just been torn down, so I’ll give him some credit for that. Finally, nothing came from Chihiro’s encounter with Mikaze other than them fighting over Fumiaki. As such, I’m starting to think the reason they’re paired together in the opening is to depict the rivalry between them.

I hope Maya isn’t really going to die by the next episode(at least not completely killed off).
Fumiaki has really gotten a long way from being the coward that he was earlier in the series. I think there was a sign at around 7:55 that Fumiaki has started to think more about Maya. As what? maybe as a friend in need? I don’t really know.. though I’m hoping it’s a bit more that :)

Maya’s father creates occult academy for Maya. There is no mention of the mother.
Maya loves occult, aliens.
This makes me suspect that Maya may be created by her father too or in other words a Nostradamus Key.

Also, preview reminded of Maya’s photo taken with the future telling phone. The photo showed her bones.

I’ve always suspected Mikaze. There’s always something fishy about her. If anyone remembers the giant moth episode, Mikaze seemed to be hiding something, there was an explosion inside the cave and she was completely oblivious about it. I’m hoping later episodes will reveal her true nature.

Loved Bunmei’s internal monologue about getting his first girlfriend, the guy never cease to amuse me.

Anyway, it was nice getting closure not only for Akari but Maya as well. Her relationship with his dad was full of misunderstandings and she needed the truth about it all. Their love for the occult was the bond that tied them together and what also separated them but I know there’s a good reason for driving Maya away (Danger perhaps?). I mean giving your daughter a car is one thing but an entire school is just, wow.

Regarding the preview, I think her death will be the first thing that will be revealed next week and the rest of the episode will be dealt with how it happen and how everyone reacted. Final arc here we come.

I think that Mikaze could possibly be an alien, time traveler or ESPer (sorry for that Haruhi ref)lol there was a slight change in the look in her eye when Fumiaki ran off. it was very subtle but Its all coming together now..
1.theres no way she’d be able to afford a Porsche waiting tables and sellin snacks.
2. She took him to the Mothman cave cuz she ” thought she saw someone” (while going 80 in a Porsche? sure…)
3.she didnt get lost or mad in that Mothman cave when Fumiaki punkd out on her
4.the lead female character is interested in him so her competition has to be eliminated somehow lol

I think that Mikaze is the one who killed the previous 5 time travelers and maybe fed them to that Mothman.
I believe the Vice principal and her goon are red herrings I definitely feeling a “were not the bad guys we were actually protecting _____” vibe from them as the show progresses.

yep thats the look.. its a shame characters like Fumiaki are destined to end up with someone who kicks the crap out of him all the time.
but i guess the sensible choice would be boring. everyone likes having a good laugh at a masochist.

Pretty much, been saying it since she came in. Too good for Fumiaki and the Mothman incident was too casual for her to be out of my radar.
D, were you as teary as we were when Akari thanked her father? I think I remembered you having a soft spot for sad moments and children (could be mistaken tho).

I do have a soft spot for sentimental stuff, but I didn’t find the Akari stuff too sad. The part that hit me the most was when she thanked her father at the end, indicating that she knew he was Santa all along (as mentioned in my post). I was still more relieved than moved though.

Akari’s background was sad though the one who suffered the most was probably the father. Nice to see they had the chance to resolve their regrets and Akari didn’t end up at an afterlife school for children

I dont Maya is the key. She already took a picture of herself and it didnt change the future. I do think her dad has something to do with the time travel. In one of the episode it looked liked he came through the door soon as Fumiaki was sent back. As for who the key is I think another possibility is Mikaze.

Well, we have esper and time traveller in Fumiaki, so an alien – or alien agent – should not be far away… Chihiro and her black-suited agent seem as likely as Mikaze, though they can be as well the Men In Black in charge of covering up everything paranormal.
Fumiaki may be having an enemy under his own nose in case of Mikaze, and being oblivious of it. That calls into question if Mikaze being alien (or their agent) is flirting with him purposefully?

I think so too… seems like a similar tactic used in The Dark Knight when Commissioner Gordon faked his death to catch The Joker. Seriously, Maya’s too important a character to be killed off… plus, she have that notebook her dad left her behind, she has got to utilise it. Maybe she can fake her death when she uses some spells written in the book?

Mikaze is very suspicious indeed… but she’s probably more an agent than the Nostradamus’s Key itself.

Chihiro feels like they have a Men In Black role in the whole story. They don’t seem to be serious enough to be the main antagonist.

I agree on the faking part. Also, I’ve been saying this since day one; Maya’s father is alive and in future. See the first 2 episodes; there’s that bearded fellow wearing similar round-glasses like her father. I think this whole time travel thing was his idea of saving the world from whatever’s coming in 1999 via the Key.

Fantastic episode, the atmosphere and drama was played up really well and almost brought tears to my eyes; I could definitely feel the lump in my throat while watching Akari and her father say their goodbyes. The MayaxFumiaki dynamic is also being fully played up now, and in my opinion XEBEC has done an excellent job at justifying their feelings for each other. I don’t think that Maya is (only) getting mad at Fumiaki for holding her in such low esteem in comparison to Mikaze but because she genuinely likes Fumiaki. It’s still subtle but the little hints they give us (like Fumiaki thinking about Maya when he thought he’d finally get a girlfriend) are enough for me to come to the conclusion that Maya has taken a liking to Fumiaki.

I can understand why some people were wary of having yet another “Girl A and Boy A must end up together” anime but the way the relationship was developed in Occult Gakuin really makes it excusable. It’s not like they fell for each other just 3 episodes after meeting, it’s something that built up subtly and with good reason, and for that it gets a pass. If nothing else, this should be seen as how to build up a relationship if you’re going to have the main characters fall in love.

As for next episode, I’m guessing Maya’s “death” won’t really be a big part of the plot and is only meant to serve as a red herring, since they spoiled the shit out of that in just the preview and even the name of the episode. At the very least, it’ll be interesting to see how Fumiaki reacts to it. It also looks like Mikaze will be making her final play at Fumiaki next episode, and it looks like it’s going to be a good attack.

BTW has it really been confirmed that this will only be 13 episodes? It seems like it has potential to be longer and I didn’t see an Anime no Chikara series lined up for fall season, unless it’s Star Driver which I doubt.

Anime no Chikara projects are joint productions by A-1 Pictures and Aniplex, with TV Tokyo as their main broadcaster.

It looks like it’s going to be 13 episodes. syoboi calendar doesn’t indicate that it will run any longer. It could just be that Anime no Chikara is finally taking a season off. Star Driver is an original series by BONES, so that’s not it.

great episode but the next episode i dont want to believe maya dies it just seems idk but i dont think she really dies or i no shes not gone for good. Mikaze is evill i no it! she wants something from him she was planning something when she invited him to her house!

1.Why everyone thinks a person has to be the key? Can it be something other, maybe Academy itself?
2.we have only 2 episodes to save the world! Fumiaki you etter hurry, and Maya, dont you dare die on us!

What irks me is people hating a show for no apparent reasons. Dislike it? Move to another series. That’s that easy.
Now, if you have reasons you want to share as of why you may hate this show? Then by all means, share it with the rest of us otherwise, you come as a troll.

Methinks Fumiaki should take a picture of Mikaze. She’s either the key, or someone sent to keep him from finding it. There’s no other explanation for Porsche girl (how does she afford that?) hanging out with hom.